Apparatus and method for exercise type recognition

ABSTRACT

A method is provided. The method comprises a first step of acquiring wrist exercise information including at least one of orientation information and motion information of a wrist of a user, a second step of acquiring upper body exercise information including at least one of orientation information and motion information of a torso of the user, a third step of calculating, using reference wrist exercise information and reference upper body exercise information corresponding to each of a plurality of exercise types, a first similarity degree between the reference wrist exercise information and the wrist exercise information and a second similarity degree between the reference upper body exercise information and the upper body exercise information for each of the exercise types, and a fourth step of determining an actual exercise type performed by the user, among the exercise types, based on the first similarity degree and the second similarity degree.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of International PatentApplication No. PCT/KR2017/013157, filed on Nov. 20, 2017, which claimspriority to and benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2016-0155013, filed on Nov. 21, 2016. The disclosures of theabove-listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for exercisetype recognition that are capable of predicting the type of exercisebeing performed by a user based on the information of the orientationand movement of a user's particular body part acquired through sensors,and conveniently managing the user's exercise information through theprediction of the type of exercise.

BACKGROUND

With the development of information and communication technology,various portable electronic devices have flooded the market. In recentyears, wearable computers having enhanced portability and convenience,e.g., electronic devices implemented as articles that can be worn on thebody of a person such as glasses, watches and clothes, have attractedattention, One of the most widespread wearable computers is a smartwatch that can be worn on a person's wrist. A smart watch can be easilyworn and can perform various functions for the convenience of the userin spite of its small size, thereby contributing to the improvement ofthe quality of life of a user.

As a method of using a wearable computer such as a smart watch or thelike, there is a method for managing exercise information such as thetype, frequency and schedule of a user who exercises for fitnesstraining or the like. Generally, activities related to exercise areperformed in a public space such as a gymnasium or outdoors rather thanpersonal space such as a home or office. Therefore, for the efficientand convenient management of exercise information, it is more desirableto use a wearable computer that is portable than to use a conventionalcomputer such as a personal computer (PC) or the like.

A wearable computer having such an exercise management function has beenalready commercially available. For example, in a certain wearablecomputer, if a user manually inputs an exercise type before startingexercise, the wearable computer records information on the exercise onthe assumption that the exercise being performed by the user has theexercise type inputted by the user. Such a conventional wearablecomputer cannot automatically recognize the type of exercise beingperformed by the user, and therefore, is constrained to rely on theinput from the user for the exercise type recognition. Thus, wheneverthe type of exercise is converted, the user has to perform an inputoperation by operating the menu of the wearable computer. This reducesthe efficiency and convenience of the wearable computer.

As another example, there is a technique of acquiring informationrelated to physical activity of a user using sensors and estimating anexercise state of the user through the acquired information. However,this technique can merely carry out a rough prediction for the type andintensity of the exercise based on the user's moving speed, the bodytemperature, the heart rate and the like, and cannot accurately identifythe type of the exercise including relatively precise motions, such asweight training or the like.

In addition, according to the related art, the types of exercise dealtwith by the wearable computer are limited to the types previously storedin the wearable computer. Therefore, it is impossible to manage exercisenewly methods acquired or created by the user.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an exercise typerecognition apparatus and an exercise type recognition method which arecapable of automatically predicting the type of exercise being performedby a user without resort to user's manual input and convenientlymanaging the user exercise information through the prediction of thetype of exercise.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an exercisetype recognition apparatus comprising an exercise sensing wrist unitconfigured to acquire wrist exercise information including at least oneof orientation information and motion information of a wrist of a user,an exercise sensing upper body unit configured to acquire upper bodyexercise information including at least one of orientation informationand motion information of a torso of the user, and a control unitconfigured to calculate, using reference wrist exercise information andreference upper body exercise information corresponding to each of aplurality of exercise types, a first similarity degree between thereference wrist exercise information and the wrist exercise informationand a second similarity degree between the reference upper body exerciseinformation and the upper body exercise information, and determine anactual exercise type performed by the user among the plurality ofexercise types based on the first similarity degree and the secondsimilarity degree.

Further, the reference wrist exercise information includes referencewrist orientation information and reference wrist motion information,the reference upper body exercise information includes reference upperbody orientation information and reference upper body motioninformation, and the control unit is configured to calculate the firstsimilarity degree by respectively comparing the orientation informationof the wrist and the motion information of the wrist with the referencewrist orientation information and the reference wrist motion informationfor each of the exercise types, and configured to calculate the secondsimilarity degree by respectively comparing the orientation informationof the upper body and the motion information of the upper body with thereference upper body orientation information and the reference upperbody motion information for each of the exercise types.

Further, the control unit is configured to calculate a generalsimilarity degree for each of the exercise types based on the firstsimilarity degree and the second similarity degree and to provide theuser with a result of sorting the exercise types according to amagnitude of the general similarity degree.

Further, the control unit is configured to output an exercise typehaving the general similarity degree equal to or greater than apredetermined value among the exercise types to the user as an actualexercise type candidate and to determine the actual exercise type fromthe actual exercise type candidate based on a selection of the user.

Further, the first reference similarity degree is larger than the secondreference similarity degree, and the control unit is configured toprovide the actual exercise type to the user from a corresponding partof a manual that stores information of each of the exercise types,together with guidance on a method of correction of the actual exercisetype when the first similarity degree or the second similarity degreefor the actual exercise type is less than a predetermined firstreference similarity degree and equal to or greater than a predeterminedsecond reference similarity degree, and to update the actual exercisetype when the first similarity degree or the second similarity degreefor the actual exercise type is less than the second referencesimilarity degree.

Further, the control unit is configured to output a predeterminedwarning notification to the user when the first similarity degree or thesecond similarity degree for the actual exercise type is less than thefirst reference similarity degree.

Further, the control unit is configured to, for an exercise routine inwhich one or more of the exercise types are combined in a predeterminedorder and for a predetermined number of repetitions, determine apreviously performed part of the exercise routine based on a number oftimes the actual exercise type is consecutively performed, and guide aremaining part of the exercise routine, other than the previouslyperformed part, to the user.

Further, the exercise types, the reference wrist exercise informationand the reference upper body exercise information corresponding to eachof the exercise types are updated based on an input from the user.

Further, the wrist exercise information includes at least one ofvelocity and acceleration of the wrist, and the upper body exerciseinformation includes at least one of velocity and acceleration of theupper body.

Further, the apparatus comprises an exercise sensing foot unitconfigured to acquire foot exercise information including at least oneof orientation information and motion information of a foot of the user,and the control unit is configured to further calculate a thirdsimilarity degree between a reference foot exercise information and thefoot exercise information for each of the exercise types, and todetermine the actual exercise type based on the third similarity degree.

Further, the apparatus comprises an exercise instrument informationrecognition unit installed on an exercise instrument used for anexercise performed by the user, and configured to acquire exerciseinstrument information on the exercise instrument, the control unit isconfigured to receive the exercise instrument information from theexercise instrument information recognition unit, and the exerciseinstrument information includes at least one of weight of the exerciseinstrument, velocity of the exercise instrument, acceleration of theexercise instrument and type of the exercise instrument.

Further, the control unit is configured to calculate an exerciserepetition degree based on a degree at which at least one of the wristexercise information and the upper body exercise information repeatedlyappears within a predetermined range for a predetermined time, and tocalculate the first similarity degree and the second similarity degreeto determine the actual exercise type only when the exercise repetitiondegree is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Further, the storage unit is configured to store user physiqueinformation of the user, and the control unit is configured to calibratethe reference wrist exercise information and the reference upper bodyexercise information based on the user physique information, and tocalculate the first similarity degree and the second similarity degreebased on the calibrated reference wrist exercise information and thecalibrated reference upper body exercise information.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an exercisetype recognition method comprising a first step of acquiring wristexercise information including at least one of orientation informationand motion information of a wrist of a user, a second step of acquiringupper body exercise information including at least one of orientationinformation and motion information of a torso of the user, a third stepof calculating, using reference wrist exercise information and referenceupper body exercise information corresponding to each of a plurality ofexercise types, a first similarity degree between the reference wristexercise information and the wrist exercise information and a secondsimilarity degree between the reference upper body exercise informationand the upper body exercise information for each of the exercise types,and a fourth step of determining an actual exercise type performed bythe user, among the exercise types, based on the first similarity degreeand the second similarity degree.

Further, the reference wrist exercise information includes referencewrist orientation information and reference wrist motion information,the reference upper body exercise information includes reference upperbody orientation information and reference upper body motioninformation, and the third step comprises a step of calculating, foreach of the exercise types, the first similarity degree by respectivelycomparing the orientation information of the wrist and the motioninformation of the wrist with the reference wrist orientationinformation and the reference wrist motion information, and the secondsimilarity degree by respectively comparing the orientation informationof the upper body and the motion information of the upper body with thereference upper body orientation information and the reference upperbody motion information.

Further, the third step comprises a step of calculating a generalsimilarity degree for each of the exercise types based on the firstsimilarity degree and the second similarity degree, and the fourth stepcomprises a step of providing the user with a result of sorting theexercise types according to a magnitude of the general similaritydegree.

Further, the fourth step comprises a step of outputting an exercise typehaving the general similarity degree equal to or greater than apredetermined value among the exercise types to the user as an actualexercise type candidate, and determining the actual exercise type fromthe actual exercise type candidate based on a selection of the user.

Further, the first reference similarity degree is larger than the secondreference similarity degree, and the fourth step comprises a step ofproviding the actual exercise type to the user from a corresponding partof a manual that stores information on each of the exercise types,together with guidance on a method of correction of the actual exercisetype when the first similarity degree or the second similarity degreefor the actual exercise type is less than a predetermined firstreference similarity degree and equal to or greater than a predeterminedsecond reference similarity degree, and updating the actual exercisetype when the first similarity degree or the second similarity degreefor the actual exercise type is less than the second referencesimilarity degree.

Further, the fourth step comprises a step of outputting a predeterminedwarning notification to the user when the first similarity degree or thesecond similarity degree for the actual exercise type is less than thefirst reference similarity degree.

Further, the fourth step comprises a step of determining, for anexercise routine in which one or more of the exercise types are combinedin a predetermined order and for a predetermined number of repetitions,a previously performed part of the exercise routine based on a number oftimes the actual exercise type is consecutively performed, and guiding aremaining part of the exercise routine, other than the previouslyperformed part, to the user.

Further, the exercise types, the reference wrist exercise informationand the reference upper body exercise information corresponding to eachof the exercise types are updated based on an input from the user.

Further, the wrist exercise information includes at least one ofvelocity and acceleration of the wrist, and the upper body exerciseinformation includes at least one of velocity information andacceleration of the upper body.

Further, the method comprises a step of acquiring foot exerciseinformation including at least one of orientation information and motioninformation of a foot of the user, the third step comprises a step offurther calculating a third similarity degree between a reference footexercise information and the foot exercise information for each of theexercise types, and the fourth step comprises a step of determining theactual exercise type based on the third similarity degree.

Further, the method comprises a step of receiving exercise instrumentinformation on an exercise instrument, which is acquired by an exerciseinstrument information recognition unit installed on the exerciseinstrument used for an exercise performed by the user, and the exerciseinstrument information includes at least one of weight of the exerciseinstrument, velocity of the exercise instrument acceleration of theexercise instrument and type of the exercise instrument.

Further, the fourth step comprises a step of calculating an exerciserepetition degree based on a degree at which at least one of the wristexercise information and the upper body exercise information repeatedlyappears within a predetermined range for a predetermined time, andcalculating the first similarity degree and the second similarity degreeto determine the actual exercise type only when the exercise repetitiondegree is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Further, the third step comprises a step of calibrating the referencewrist exercise information and the reference upper body exerciseinformation based on previously-stored user physique information of theuser, and a step of calculating the first similarity degree and thesecond similarity degree based on the calibrated reference wristexercise information and the calibrated reference upper body exerciseinformation.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an exerciseinformation management apparatus comprising an information acquiringunit mounted on an exercise instrument used for exercise performed by auser and configured to generate exercise instrument informationincluding weight information of a portion of the exercise instrumentwhich moves by a force exerted by the user, and an informationprocessing unit configured to generate, based on the exercise instrumentinformation, user exercise information including time-series informationregarding a use of the exercise instrument by the user.

Further, the information processing unit located in a portableelectronic device of the user, and the information acquiring unitcomprises a wireless communication module for transmitting the exerciseinstrument information to the information processing unit.

Further, the apparatus comprises an information storing unit whichstores type information on a type of the exercise instrument on whichthe information acquiring unit is mounted, the information acquiringunit is configured to generate exercise instrument recognition signaldetermined based on the type information and transmit the exerciseinstrument recognition signal to the information processing unit, andthe information processing unit is configured to recognize, based on theexercise instrument recognition signal, the type of the exerciseinstrument used by the user.

Further, the information acquiring unit includes an acceleration sensorand is configured to determine whether said portion exists in theexercise instrument using an acceleration value measured by theacceleration sensor.

Further, the information processing unit is configured to recognize atype of the exercise instrument based on a result of a comparison of theexercise instrument information with predetermined reference exerciseinstrument information.

Further, the user exercise information includes at least one of typeinformation of the exercise instrument, the weight informationcorresponding to each type of the exercise instrument, and informationon a time period or number of times of the use of the exerciseinstrument by the user.

Further, the information acquiring unit comprises a pressure sensorwhich measures a pressure exerted thereon by said portion of theexercise instrument and is configured to generate the weight informationbased on a value of the pressure.

Further, the information acquiring unit further comprises anacceleration sensor which measures an acceleration of said portion ofthe exercise instrument and is configure to compensate the value of thepressure using a value of the acceleration so as to generate the weightinformation.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an exerciseinformation management method comprising a first step of generating,using an information acquiring unit mounted on an exercise instrumentused for exercise performed by a user, exercise instrument informationincluding weight information of a portion of the exercise instrumentwhich moves by a force exerted by the user, and a second step ofgenerating, based on the exercise instrument information, user exerciseinformation including time-series information regarding a use of theexercise instrument by the user.

Further, the second step is performed by a portable electronic device ofthe user, and the information acquiring unit comprises wirelesscommunication module for transmitting the exercise instrumentinformation to the portable electronic device.

Further, the first step comprises generating an exercise instrumentrecognition signal determined based on pre-stored type information on atype of the exercise instrument on which the information acquiring unitis mounted, and the second step comprises recognizing, based on theexercise instrument recognition signal, the type of the exerciseinstrument used by the user.

Further, the first step comprises determining whether said portionexists in the exercise instrument using an acceleration value measuredby an acceleration sensor.

Further, the second step comprises recognizing a type of the exerciseinstrument based on a result of a comparison of the exercise instrumentinformation with predetermined reference exercise instrumentinformation.

Further, the user exercise information includes at least one of typeinformation of the exercise instrument, the weight informationcorresponding to each type of the exercise instrument, and informationon a time period or number of times of the use of the exerciseinstrument by the user.

Further, the information acquiring unit comprises a pressure sensorwhich measures a pressure exerted thereon by said portion of theexercise instrument, and the first step comprises generating the weightinformation based on a value of the pressure.

Further, the information acquiring unit further comprises anacceleration sensor which measures an acceleration of said portion ofthe exercise instrument, and the first step comprises compensating thevalue of the pressure using a value of the acceleration so as togenerate the weight information.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the informationrelated to the orientation and movement of a user's wrist and upper bodyis acquired through sensors, and the acquired information is comparedwith the information stored in a storage unit. This makes it possible topredict the type of the exercise being performed by the user.

Accordingly, the type of the exercise performed by the user can beaccurately determined even with a small number of sensor devices. Thismakes it possible to enhance the convenience and efficiency. Inaddition, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, it ispossible to additionally provide an exercise correction function, auser-defined exercise type generation function and the like, which makesit possible to further enhance the convenience and efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view conceptually showing an exercise type recognitionapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the configuration of the exercise typerecognition apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the flow of an exercise type recognitionmethod carried out by the exercise type recognition apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A to 4F are views for explaining a specific operation of theexercise type recognition apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a function for recognizing patternedexercise among the functions of the exercise type recognition apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an exercise correction function amongthe functions of the exercise type recognition apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are views for explaining an exercise instrumentinformation recognition function according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are views for explaining showing the configuration of anexercise information management apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the flow of an exercise informationmanagement method carried out by the exercise information managementapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The advantages and features of exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention and methods of accomplishing them will be clearly understoodfrom the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is notlimited to those embodiments and may be implemented in various forms. Itshould be noted that the embodiments are provided to make a fulldisclosure and also to allow those skilled in the art to know the fullscope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will bedefined only by the scope of the appended claims.

In the following description, well-known functions and/or constitutionswill not be described in detail if they would unnecessarily obscure thefeatures of the present invention in unnecessary detail. Further, theterms to be described below are defined in consideration of theirfunctions in the embodiments of the present invention and may varydepending on a user's or operator's intention or practice. Accordingly,the definition may be made on a basis of the content throughout thespecification.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view conceptually showing an exercise type recognitionapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Asdescribed at the beginning of this specification, a user 200 whoperforms exercise may manage his/her exercise information through anexercise type recognition apparatus 100 implemented in the form of awearable computer for convenience and efficiency.

The exercise type recognition apparatus 100 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure may measure the exercise information of eachof one or more specific body parts of the user 200. Although the bodypart for which the exercise information is to be measured may be anypart, for the convenience of the user 200, it is necessary to obtain anaccurate exercise type recognition result as far as possible bymeasuring a minimum number of body parts. Therefore, the exercise typerecognition apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure is configured to accurately recognize the type of exercise ofthe user 200 based on only the exercise information on the wrist and theupper body (more specifically, the torso excluding the head and thearms) of the user 200.

In order to acquire the exercise information of the body part such asthe wrist or the torso of the user 200, the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 may include a subcomponent mounted on the body of the user200 as shown in FIG. 1 and configured to acquire exercise information.The exercise information acquired by such subcomponent may includeorientation information and motion information. The orientationinformation may include information as to which direction the body partof the user information on which direction the body part of the user 200faces in a three-dimensional coordinate system. The motion informationmay include information on the direction and velocity of the movement ofthe body part of the user 200 in the three-dimensional coordinatesystem, for example, velocity or acceleration when the wrist or theupper body of the user 200 moves in a specific direction.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the configuration of the exercise typerecognition apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The exercise type recognition apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2may include an exercise sensing unit 110, a storage unit 120, a controlunit 130, an input unit 140, an output unit 150 and an exerciseinstrument information recognition unit 160. However, the exercise typerecognition apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 is nothing more than oneembodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the spirit of thepresent disclosure is not limited by the illustrating of FIG. 2.

The exercise sensing unit 110 may acquire exercise information such asorientation information and motion information of specific body parts ofthe user 200. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, asdescribed above, the wrist and the torso may be set as the specific bodyparts, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. As athree-dimensional coordinate system for describing the orientationinformation and the motion information of the user 200, it may bepossible to use widely-known coordinate systems such as a Cartesiancoordinate system, a cylindrical coordinate system and a sphericalcoordinate system. However, the present disclosure is not necessarilylimited thereto.

In order to achieve the object of the present disclosure describedabove, the exercise sensing unit 110 may include an exercise sensingwrist unit 111 for acquiring exercise information of the wrist of theuser 200, and an exercise sensing upper body unit 112 for acquiringexercise information of the torso of the user 200. For the accuratemeasurement of exercise information, the exercise sensing wrist unit 111may be mounted on the wrist of the user 200, and the exercise sensingupper body unit 112 may be mounted on the torso of the user 200. Theexercise sensing wrist unit 111 may be mounted on only one wrist of theuser 200 or may be mounted on both wrists of the user 200. The exercisesensing unit 110 may be implemented using one or more sensors such as agravity sensor, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. Such exerciseinformation may be described in various ways. For example, the exerciseinformation may be described on the basis of the ground directiondetected through the gravity sensor (e.g., using the directionperpendicular to the ground as a z axis). Since the more detailedrealization method of the exercise sensing unit 110 is obvious to aperson skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will beomitted here.

Optionally, the exercise sensing unit 110 may further include anadditional component for collecting exercise information on another bodypart of the user 200 other than the wrist and torso. An example of suchanother body part is the foot. For example, the exercise sensing unit110 may further include a foot exercise sensing unit (not shown) foracquiring foot exercise information such as orientation information andmotion information of the foot of the user 200. By acquiring the footmovement information, it is possible to recognize the type of exercisefor the exercise such as a leg press or the like, which moves only thelower body without special motion for the wrist and torso. By acquiringthe exercise information on the wrist, torso and foot, it becomespossible to recognize almost all types of exercise.

Meanwhile, the main body of the exercise type recognition apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited inits implementation form. However, for the use convenience of the user200, it is possible that the main body of the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 is implemented in the form of a wearable computer,particularly a smart watch which can be worn on the wrist of the user200. As one example, the main body of the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 may be integrated with a commercially availablegeneral-purpose smart watch. In this case, a part of the smart watch maybe used as a component of the exercise type recognition apparatus 100.

When the main body of the exercise type recognition apparatus 100 isimplemented in such a form that the main body can be worn on the wristof the user 200, the exercise sensing wrist unit 111 may be integratedwith the main body of the exercise type recognition apparatus 100.However, the exercise sensing upper body unit 112 may be physicallyseparated from the main body of the exercise type recognition apparatus100. Components of the exercise sensing unit 110 separated from the mainbody may be realized by providing a communication module capable ofcommunicating with the main body. Some components integrated with themain body among the components of the exercise sensing unit 110 may alsocommunicate with the other components of the exercise sensing unit 110separated from the main body, using a communication module included initself or another component of the main body (for example, the controlunit 130). The components such as the storage unit 120, the control unit130, the input unit 140 and the output unit 150, which will be describedbelow, are preferably implemented in the main body of the exercise typerecognition apparatus 100.

The storage unit 120 may store a plurality of exercise types and mayalso store reference wrist exercise information and reference upper bodyexercise information corresponding to each of the exercise types. Asused herein, the term “exercise type” may indicate a specific exercisemotion such as a bench press, a squat, a deadlift, or the like. Inaddition, the exercise type may indicate a new type of exercise motionfound or created by the user 200. Each of these exercise types may havereference wrist exercise information and reference upper body exerciseinformation. For example, a squat may be defined as a type of exercisein which the wrist is moved up and down in a state of facing obliquelyupward (hereinafter, the wrist facing upward is defined as the back ofthe wrist facing upward) and in which the torso is moved up and down ina upright posture. The reference wrist exercise information and thereference upper body exercise information corresponding to the squat maybe determined based on this definition. In addition, when the exercisesensing unit 110 further acquires exercise information on another bodypart, the storage unit 120 may further store reference exerciseinformation on said another body part.

Meanwhile, the exercise types and the reference wrist exerciseinformation and the reference upper body exercise informationcorresponding to each of the exercise types, which are stored in thestorage unit 120, may be updated based on the input from the user 200.In other words, the user 200 may store the new exercise type created byhimself or obtained from another person in the storage unit 120, and mayuse the new exercise type as data for a new exercise. By this function,it is possible to infinitely expand the kinds of exercise that the user200 can manage through the exercise type recognition apparatus 100according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In addition to the reference exercise information, the storage unit 120may further store data or an application program required by theexercise type recognition apparatus 100. For example, according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure, the storage unit 120 may store amanual for providing a guide for each of the exercise types, the valuesof first and second reference similarities serving as the reference ofthe operation of the control unit 130, and the like. The storage unit120 may be embodied as a computer-readable recording medium. Examples ofthe computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic medium such asa hard disk, a floppy disk or a magnetic tape, an optical medium such asa CD-ROM or a DVD, a magneto-optical medium such as a floptical disk orthe like, and a hardware device specially configured to store andperform program instructions. Instead of directly including the storageunit 120, the exercise type recognition apparatus 100 may downloadinformation stored outside the exercise type recognition apparatus 100via a network. This is obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The control unit 130 may control other components of the exercise typerecognition apparatus 100 so that the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 can perform a desired function. As a basic function, thecontrol unit 130 may calculate the similarity for each of the exercisetypes by respectively comparing the reference wrist exercise informationand the reference upper body exercise information corresponding to eachof the exercise types stored in the storage unit 120 with the wristexercise information and the upper body exercise information acquired bythe exercise sensing unit 110. In some embodiments, based on theexercise information of the user 200 accumulated for a predeterminedperiod of time by the exercise sensing unit 110, the control unit 130may determine whether the user 200 is actually exercising or merelyperforming a daily life motion, through the degree of repetition ofmotion (for example, the repetition of motion in a similar direction andvelocity over a certain number of times). Accordingly, the control unit130 may be configured to calculate the degree of similarity only whenthe degree of repetition is equal to or greater than a certain level.

For example, the control unit 130 may cumulatively store wrist exerciseinformation and upper body exercise information in the storage unit 120during the predetermined period of time. Using the informationaccumulated in this manner, the control unit 130 may calculate thedegree of repetition of exercise based on the degree of repetition ofthe wrist exercise information or the upper body exercise informationappearing within a predetermined range during the predetermined periodof time. The degree of repetition of exercise may be calculated for thewrist exercise information and the upper body exercise information,respectively. The control unit 130 may be configured to calculate thedegree of similarity only when at least one (or both) of the degree ofrepetition of exercise on the wrist exercise information and the degreeof repetition of exercise on the upper body exercise information isdetermined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Based on the result of the calculation, the control unit 130 may predictan exercise type corresponding to the exercise being performed by theuser 200 among the exercise types stored in the storage unit 120. Forexample, the control unit 130 may predict the exercise type having thehighest value of the calculated similarity as the exercise beingperformed by the user 200. In the meantime, due to differences inphysique such as the height of a person or the like, there is apossibility that the movement distance or the movement radius of thewrist or the upper body may be different even when the person performsthe same exercise. In order to calibrate the difference in physique, thecontrol unit 130 may utilize the user physique information on thephysique of the user 200 pre-stored in the storage unit 120, or the userphysique information inputted from the user 200 through the input unit140 to be described later. That is, based on the user physiqueinformation, the control unit 130 may calibrate the reference exerciseinformation stored in the storage unit 120 in conformity with thephysique information of the user 200 who is currently excising. Thereference exercise information which has been corrected may be used forcalculating the degree of similarity. In contrast, the control unit 130may also estimate the physique condition of the user 200 through theexercise information acquired by the exercise sensing unit 110.

Other specific operations of the control unit 130 will be describedlater. The control unit 130 may be implemented using a computing deviceincluding a microprocessor. The control unit 130 may further include acommunication module for communicating with components outside theexercise type recognition apparatus 100 or components separated from themain body of the exercise type recognition apparatus 100.

The input unit 140 may sense an input instruction inputted from the user200 and may transmit the input instruction to the control unit 130. Forexample, the user 200 may operate the input unit 140 to select aspecific exercise type from the exercise type prediction resultsoutputted through the output unit 150 by the control unit 130. The inputunit 140 may be implemented using an input device such as a classickeyboard or a mouse. Preferably, the input unit 140 may be implementedusing a touch sensing panel integrally formed with a touch screen typedisplay. A detailed implementation of the touch screen type displayincluding the touch sensing panel is obvious to those skilled in theart, and therefore, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Inaddition to the touch sensing panel, the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure mayfurther include, as a part of the input unit 140, a button which can beoperated through a physical operation such as pressing or touching, or avoice recognition device such as a microphone or the like.

The output unit 150 may output the specific information in the formrecognizable by the user 200 under the control of the control unit 130.Such specific information may be, for example, an exercise typeprediction result generated by the control unit 130. The output unit 150may be realized to include a display device such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED), an audio outputdevice such as a speaker or the like, or a vibration generator. Morepreferably, the output unit 150 may include a touch screen type displayintegrated with the touch sensing panel serving as the input unit 140 asdescribed above. The exercise instrument information recognition unit160 will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the flow of an exercise type recognitionmethod carried out by the exercise type recognition apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. The respective steps of theexercise type recognition method according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described below with reference to FIG. 3. Thedescription of parts overlapping with those of FIGS. 1 and 2 may beomitted. It should be noted that the following steps are not necessarilyperformed in order, and the order may be changed as necessary.

First, the wrist exercise information including the orientationinformation and the motion information of the wrist of the user 200 maybe acquired using the exercise sensing wrist unit 111 of the exercisesensing unit 110 (S110). In addition, the upper body exerciseinformation including the orientation information and the motioninformation of the torso of the user 200 may be acquired using theexercise sensing upper body unit 112 of the excise sensing unit 110(S120).

Next, the control unit 130 may calculate the degree of similarity ofeach of the exercise types to the exercise performed by the user 200,using the exercise types pre-stored in the storage unit 120 and thereference wrist exercise information and the reference upper bodyexercise information corresponding to each of the exercise types (S130).As described above, the reference wrist exercise information may includethe reference wrist orientation information and the reference wristmotion information, and the reference upper body exercise informationmay include the reference upper body orientation information and thereference upper body motion information.

More specifically, the similarity degree calculation is performed asfollows. For example, it is assumed that the above-mentioned benchpress, squat and deadlift are stored in the storage unit 120 as exercisetypes. When the exercise sensing unit 110 acquires the exerciseinformation of the user 200, the control unit 130 may first respectivelycompare the reference wrist orientation information and the referencewrist motion information stored in correspondence to the bench presswith the wrist orientation information and the wrist motion informationof the user 200, thereby calculating the degree of similarity (firstdegree of similarity) of the wrist exercise information on the benchpress. In addition, the control unit 130 may respectively compare thereference upper body orientation information and the reference upperbody motion information stored in correspondence to the bench press withthe upper body orientation information and the upper body motioninformation of the user 200, thereby calculating the degree ofsimilarity (second degree of similarity) of the upper body exerciseinformation on the bench press. Such an operation may also be performedfor the squat and the deadlift.

Further, as described above, the control unit 130 may calculate thedegree of similarity to the reference exercise information including thereference orientation information and the reference motion informationwith respect to another body part of the user 200 other than the wristand the upper body. For example, the control unit 130 may furthercalculate the degree of similarity (third degree of similarity) betweenthe reference foot exercise information and the foot exerciseinformation of the user 200. The calculated degree of similarity may beused as an additional data for the exercise type recognition.

After the above-described operation is performed, the control unit 130may calculate the general similarity degree from two similarity degrees,i.e., the similarity degree of the wrist exercise information and thesimilarity degree of the upper body exercise information with respect toeach of the exercise types. Such a general similarity degree may beobtained by taking a simple average of the two similarity degrees.However, it may also be possible to use other methods such as obtaininga weighted average by applying different weights to the two similaritydegrees. In addition, when acquiring the exercise information on anotherbody part such as the foot or the like other than the wrist and thetorso, the above operation may be performed on another body part justlike the wrist and the torso. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience,it is assumed that only the exercise information of the wrist and thetorso is acquired.

When the similarity degree calculation is completed, the control unit130 may predict which type of exercise stored in the storage unit 120corresponds to the exercise currently being performed by the user 200,and may determine the actual exercise type corresponding to the exerciseactually performed by the user 200 (S140). For example, the control unit130 may determine the exercise type having the largest generalsimilarity degree as the actual exercise type corresponding to theexercise actually being performed by the user 200.

Further, the selection by the user 200 may be considered whendetermining the actual exercise type. For example, the control unit 130may sort the respective exercise types stored in the storage unit 120 inthe order of the general similarity degree. The result of this sortingmay be provided to the user 200 via the output unit 150. There is nolimit to the method of providing the sorting result. For example, thecontrol unit 130 may sort all the exercise type, stored in the storageunit 120 in order of the general similarity degree and may provide thesame to the user 200. However, the control unit 130 may provide the user200 with only the exercise types having the general similarity degreeequal to or greater than a predetermined value in the order of thesimilarity degree. Alternatively, the control unit 130 may provide theuser 200 with only a predetermined number of exercise types (forexample, three exercise types having general similarity degrees largerthan those of the others). The exercise types included in the listoutputted to the user 200 in this way may be referred to as “actualexercise type candidates”.

FIGS. 4A to 4F are views for explaining a specific operation of theexercise type recognition apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. That is, FIGS. 4A to 4F illustrate that the exercisetype performed by the user 200 can be effectively predicted by acquiringthe exercise information from the wrist and the torso.

Referring to FIG. 4A, it can be seen that the wrist of the user 200 ismoving up and down in a state in which the wrist is oriented obliquelyupward with respect to the ground. It can also be noted that the torsoof the user 200 is moving up and down in an upright posture with thesame path and velocity as the wrist. This exercise may be defined as asquat.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the wrist of the user 200 is oriented obliquelyupward with respect to the ground as in the case of FIG. 4A. However, itcan be noted that unlike FIG. 4A, the direction of the movement of thewrist of the user 200 is diagonal rather than vertical. In addition, thetorso of the user 200 is also in an upright posture just like the caseof FIG. 4A. However, unlike FIG. 4A, the direction of the movement ofthe torso of the user 200 is diagonal just like the wrist. This exercisemay be defined as a lunge. That is, the squat and the lunge having thesame orientation of the wrist and torso can be distinguished by thedifference in movement.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 4C, it can be seen that the torsoof the user 200 does not move while kept in an upright posture, and thewrist repeats the motion of drawing a quadrant about the shoulder as anaxis. When the wrist reciprocates the quadrant once, the orientation ofthe wrist is gradually changed from the horizontal direction to thevertical direction and then from the vertical direction to thehorizontal direction. This exercise may be defined as a side lateralraise.

Referring to FIG. 4D, the exercise shown in (A) and (B) of FIG. 4D andthe exercise shown in (C) and (D) of FIG. 4D have the same exerciseinformation of the wrist. However, it can be noted that (A) and (B) ofFIG. 4D correspond to a backwardly lying posture in which the torso isrotated by an angle exceeding 90 degrees with respect to the uprightposture, and (C) and (D) of FIG. 4D correspond to an obliquely lyingposture in which the torso is rotated by an angle lower than 90 degreeswith respect to the upright posture. A typical bench press is performedin a lying posture in which the torso is parallel to the ground.However, it can be seen through the torso's orientation information thatthe exercise shown in (A) and (B) of FIG. 4D and the exercise shown in(C) and (D) of FIG. 4D correspond to a decline bench press and anincline bench press, respectively, which are special types of a benchpress.

Next, referring to FIG. 4E, it can be seen that the exercise shown in(A) and (B) of FIG. 4E and the exercise shown in (C) and (D) of FIG. 4Ehave the same exercise information of the torso and have the samechanging mode of the orientation of the wrist during the exercise, butthe sizes of the trajectory drawn by the movement of the wrist aredifferent from each other. That is, when storing the reference wristmotion information for the aforementioned exercise types in the storageunit 120, the radius of the trajectory of the wrist movement shown in(A) and (B) of FIG. 4E may be stored as the length of the elbow of anordinary person, and the radius of the trajectory of the wrist movementshown in (C) and (D) of FIG. 4E may be stored as the total length of thearm of an ordinary person.

More specifically, information on the trajectory can be acquired asfollows. First, the length of the trajectory can be calculated using thespeed and elapsed time of the motion performed by the exercise sensingwrist unit 111. Additionally, the central angle of the trajectory can becalculated based on the change of the orientation of the exercisesensing wrist unit 111. Then, it is possible to determine the radius ofthe trajectory by acquiring a unique solution for the radiuscorresponding to the calculated length and central angle of thetrajectory.

Finally, referring to FIG. 4F, it can be noted that the exercise shownin (A) and (B) of FIG. 4F and the exercise shown in (C) and (D) of FIG.4F are identical in that the torso does not move while kept in anupright posture and are substantially similar in the trajectory drawn bythe wrist in the course of the wrist movement and in the change of theorientation of the wrist. However, the typical motion principle may beused to distinguish between the two kinds of exercise. In the weighttraining, it is the principle that a body part such as the wrist movesquickly when moving in the force applying direction (i.e., the directionof a muscle contraction), but moves slowly when moving in the oppositedirection (i.e., the direction of a muscle relaxation). In (A) and (B)of FIG. 4F, a force is applied when the wrist moves downward. Therefore,in this case, the reference wrist motion information may be defined asthe wrist being quickly moved downward and slowly moved upward.Conversely, in (C) and (D) of FIG. 4F, a force is applied when the wristmoves upward. Therefore, in this case, the reference wrist motioninformation may be defined as the wrist being quickly moved upward andslowly moved downward. By referring to FIGS. 4D to 4F, it can be seenthat according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it ispossible to recognize the subdivided exercise types through theorientation information and the motion information of the wrist and thetorso.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a function for recognizing patternedexercise among the functions of the exercise type recognition apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 relates toa kind of grouping and shows that a plurality of exercise types can bestored in the storage unit 120 as one patterned exercise type. Theexercise shown in FIG. 5 is called a burpee test and may be stored inthe storage unit 120 as a patterned exercise type in which two types ofexercise, i.e., push-up and jumping squat, are combined. That is, if itis determined that the user 200 has performed the jumping squatimmediately after the push-up, the control unit 130 may recognize thatthe user 200 has performed the burpee test. Needless to say, the controlunit 130 may provide both the burpee test and the jumping squat, as aresult of the exercise type prediction, to the user 200 who hasperformed the jumping squat immediately after the push-up. Optionally,the control unit 130 may consider the patterned exercise type having ahigher priority than a single exercise type with regard to theprediction of the exercise type recognition.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the control unit 130 may provide the user 200with a list of actual exercise type candidates as described above. Theuser 200 may select, through the input unit 140, the type of exerciseactually being performed by the user among the actual exercise typecandidates. This selection corresponds to the determination of theactual type of exercise that the user 200 is currently performing. Asdescribed above, such determination may be performed by the control unit130 based on the similarity degree without resort to the input of theuser 200.

In the above example, when the control unit 130 presents a decline benchpress, an ordinary bench press and an incline bench press as actualexercise type candidates in the order of the general similarity degree,the user 200 may select the decline bench press, thereby confirming thatthe control unit 130. has performed a correct recognition.Alternatively, the user 200, who is actually performing the ordinarybench press, may determine the type of exercise being performed byhimself or herself as an ordinary bench press by selecting the ordinarybench press having a lower general similarity degree. In this case, itmay be interpreted that the user 200 is exercising in a state in whichthe body is too inclined to be regarded as an ordinary bench press.Therefore, the control unit 130 may provide the user 200 with a manualof the ordinary bench press stored in the storage unit 120 as anexercise correction function that induces the user to perform anordinary bench press with a correct posture. Further, the control unit130 may recommend the user 200 to newly select the decline bench presswhich is a type of exercise having a highest similarity degreedetermined by the control unit 130 as the actual exercise type insteadof the ordinary bench press.

More specifically, for example, the control unit 130 may perform theabove-described exercise correction function when the similarity degreeof the wrist exercise information or the similarity degree of the upperbody exercise information with respect to the exercise type determinedas the exercise being performed by the user 200 is smaller than apredetermined first reference similarity degree and larger than apredetermined second reference similarity degree (where the firstreference similarity degree is preferably larger than the secondreference similarity degree). At this time, in addition to performingthe exercise correction function, the control unit 130 may output apredetermined notification through the output unit 150 so that the user200 can immediately recognize that the exercise of the user 200 isincorrect. The predetermined notification may be a visual notificationsuch as a warning text or the like, an audible notification such as abeep sound or the like, or tactile notification such as a vibration orthe like. As the similarity degree determination reference, it may bepossible to use the similarity degree of the wrist exercise informationor the similarity degree of the upper body exercise information asdescribed above. The general similarity degree may also be used.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an exercise correction function amongthe functions of the exercise type recognition apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6(A) shows a method oflifting a dumbbell correctly. It can be seen that the wrist with adumbbell has to be moved in a vertical direction. On the other hand,FIG. 6(B) shows an incorrect posture in which the wrist with a dumbbellis moved obliquely upward. When the user 200 takes an incorrect postureshown in FIG. 6(B), the control unit 130 may guide the user 200 to takea correct posture through the exercise correction function based on thesimilarity degree which has been calculated to be a low level.

However, it is necessary to determine whether the user 200 is performingexercise in the wrong way or intentionally switching the exercise toanother exercise. In a method of making such determination, if thesimilarity degree to the determined exercise type is very low and fallsbelow the second reference similarity degree, the control unit 130 maydetermine that the exercise is not wrong but the exercise is switched.

In fact, it is common that when the user switches the kind of exercise,there is a slight resting period between one exercise and anotherexercise (for example, a time to take a break or move to anotherexercise instrument). It is highly likely that the motion shown by theuser in the resting period is not similar to any exercise type. If theuser 200 shows a motion having an extremely low similarity degree (lessthan the second reference similarity degree as illustrated above) to thedetermined exercise type, the control unit 130 may determine that theuser is in a resting period, and may suspend the prediction operationuntil the exercise type whose similarity degree is equal to or higherthan the second reference similarity degree is detected. If the exercisetype whose similarity degree is equal to or higher than the secondreference similarity degree is detected, the control unit 130 mayperform a new prediction and determination operation.

For more accurate operation, the control unit 130 may determine that theuser 200 is in a resting period when the period of time in which thesimilarity degree falls below the second reference similarity degree ismaintained for a predetermined time or more. Alternatively, the user 200may inform the control unit 130 that the user 200 wants to switch theexercise, by using an input through the input unit 140, for example, anoperation of pressing a specific button.

On the other hand, the control unit 130 may update the actual exercisetype based on the new similarity degree value every time the similaritydegree is newly calculated. However, even if the similarity degree isnewly calculated, the actual exercise type may not be updated unless apredetermined time is not elapsed from the time when the actual exercisetype is finally updated. In this case, the control unit 130 may inducethe user to take a correct posture according to the actual exercisetype, instead of updating the actual exercise type. Furthermore, thecontrol unit 130 may update the actual exercise type to be anotherexercise type having a highest similarity degree only when the newlycalculated similarity degree to the actual exercise type falls below thesecond reference similarity degree. This makes it possible to preventthe actual exercise type from being excessively frequently switched.

According to the embodiment, if a state in which the motion is soinconsistent (for example, a state in which the similarity degree fallsbelow the second reference similarity degree and then returns to abovethe first Reference similarity degree, or a state in which thesimilarity degree changing in a predetermined change amount or moreappears a predetermined number of times or more) is detected, thecontrol unit 130 may determine that the exercise is incorrectlyperformed, and may execute an exercise correction function.

Meanwhile, although it is determined that the exercise performed by theuser 200 is switched to another exercise as the similarity degree fallsbelow the second reference similarity degree, said another exercise maynot be similar to any of the exercise types stored in the storage unit120. In this case, the user 200 may directly store said another exerciseas a new exercise type in the storage unit 120 through the input unit140.

The control unit 130 may score the exercise goal achievement rate of theuser 200 based on how high similarity degree the user 200 has performedthe exercise or whether the user 200 has correctly followed theplurality of exercise types in the predetermined order, and may providethe exercise goal achievement rate to the user 200. The user 200 mayknow through the exercise goal achievement rate how faithfully the user200 is performing the exercise.

Based on the functions as described above, the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention mayperform an exercise management function for the user 200. Specifically,the control unit 130 may record, in the storage unit 120, informationsuch as the type, order and frequency of the exercise performed by theuser 200 at a specific date and time. In addition, the control unit 130may record, in the storage unit 120, how correctly the exercise of theuser 200 has been performed, based on the information such as thesimilarity degree or the like. Moreover, the user 200 may pre-store, inthe storage unit 120, an exercise plan according to the date and time(e.g., twelve squats after 15 push-ups). In this case, the control unit130 may present the exercise plan to the user 200 at the date and time.During the exercise performed by the user 200, the control unit 130 mayinform the user 200 of the exercise type to be performed next accordingto the exercise plan and the number of execution times of the exercise(for example, the control unit 130 may inform the user 200 who hasalready performed 13 push-ups that 2 push-ups and 12 squats remain).

On the other hand, the guidance according to this exercise routine maybe performed based on the prediction and determination of the controlunit 130, regardless of the specific date and time. For example, whenthe exercise type determined as the exercise performed by the user 200belongs to a specific exercise routine, or when the user 200 isexercising after selecting a specific exercise routine, the control unit130 determines whether the exercise type currently performed by the user200 has been consecutively performed a predetermined number of timesdefined in the exercise routine. If it is determined that the exercisetype has been consecutively performed as defined in the exerciseroutine, the control unit 130 may guide the next exercise type in theexercise routine to the user 200. That is, the control unit 130 maydetermine which part of the exercise routine has been previouslyperformed, and may guide the remaining part of the exercise routine tothe user 200. In this way, by comparing the exercise performed by theuser 200 with the stored exercise routine, it is possible to effectivelypredict the exercise type which the user 200 will perform, even if thereare two or more types of exercise that are hard to distinguish due tothe similar movement of the wrist and/or the torso. Thus, the functionsof the present disclosure can be supplemented. In addition, the exercisetype recognition apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure can perform all the general functions of an exercisescheduler currently in widespread use.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, it is possible to accurately discriminate the type ofexercise performed by the user 200 using only a small number of sensordevices. In addition, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, it is possible to additionally provide an exercisecorrection function, a user-defined exercise type generation functionand the like to the user 200. This makes it possible to further enhancethe convenience and the efficiency.

Meanwhile, the exercise type recognition apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may perform a function ofrecognizing exercise instrument information through communication withan exercise instrument or mechanism, in addition to the exercise typerecognition and management function described above. These additionalfunctions will be described below.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are views for explaining an exercise instrumentinformation recognition function according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Generally, a plurality of disks having apredetermined unit weight exists in an exercise instrument for weighttraining. For example, assuming that there is a weight training machine300 in which the weight thereof is adjustable using a plurality of 5 kgdisks as shown in FIG. 7A, the user 200 of the machine 300 may insert afixing pin 311 into the sixth disk from the top among the plurality ofdisks 310 of the machine 300 when the user 200 wishes to set the weightof the weight training machine 300 as 30 kg. Then, the sixth disk intowhich the fixing pin 311 is inserted and the first to fifth disks abovethe sixth disk, i.e., a total of six disks having a weight of 30 kg, canbe used for the exercise of the user 200.

In this case, an exercise instrument information recognition deviceincluding a pressure sensor and an acceleration sensor may be mounted ona component of an exercise instrument such as the fixing pin 311 or thelike as shown in FIG. 7B. The exercise instrument informationrecognition device may be an exercise instrument information recognitionunit 160 as a component of the exercise type recognition apparatus 100.The exercise instrument information recognition unit 160 may beimplemented in proximity to the exercise instrument used by the user 200while being physically separated from the main body of the exercise typerecognition apparatus 100. The exercise instrument informationrecognition unit 160 may include a communication module forcommunicating with the main body of the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100. The control unit 130 may receive the information acquiredby the exercise instrument information recognition unit 160 throughwireless communication.

The exercise type recognition apparatus 100 may automatically know theweight with which the user 200 has performed the exercise, based on theweight information acquired by the pressure sensor in the exerciseinstrument information recognition unit 160. A description will be mademore specifically using the illustration of the disks 310 and the fixingpin 311. As the number of the disks 310 used by the user 200 forexercise increases, the load applied to the fixing pin 311 increases inproportion thereto. Such a load may be sensed by the pressure sensor inthe exercise instrument information recognition unit 160 mounted on thefixing pin 311.

However, the weight information acquired by the pressure sensor may beinaccurate due to the inertial force when the disks 310 undergoacceleration movement. Therefore, the acceleration information includingthe information on the magnitude and direction acquired by theacceleration sensor in the exercise instrument information recognitionunit 160 may be used for correcting the weight information. In addition,the exercise instrument information recognition unit 160 may alsoinclude a storage module for storing information on the type of theexercise instrument on which the exercise instrument informationrecognition unit 160 is installed. The information on the type of theexercise instrument may also be transmitted to the control unit 130through wireless communication. Then, the control unit 130 mayautomatically acquire information on the weight with which the user 200has performed the exercise, and may execute the exercise managementfunction for the user 200 based on the acquired information.

Alternatively, as for a relatively simple exercise instrument such as adumbbell or the like which does not have a weight adjustment functionusing disks or plates, as shown in FIG. 7C, a small device provided withat least one of a pressure sensor and an acceleration sensor and havinga communication function may be attached to an exercise instrument 400as an exercise instrument information recognition unit 160. Then, thedevice corresponding to the exercise instrument information recognitionunit 160 may realize through the sensor that the user 200 is performingexercise with the exercise instrument 400, and may transmit the exerciseinstrument information including the information on the kind and weightof the exercise instrument 400 to the control unit 130.

The exercise instrument information acquired from the exerciseinstrument information recognition unit 160 in this manner maysupplement the information acquired by other components of the exercisetype recognition apparatus 100. For example, when the control unit 130realizes that the user is performing bench press, the control unit 130may receive information on the kind and weight of the exerciseinstrument such as a barbell or the like used for bench press by theuser 200, the velocity and acceleration during exercise, and the likefrom the exercise instrument information recognition unit 160. Thevelocity information and the acceleration information may includemagnitude information and direction information, respectively. Thecontrol unit 130 may store, in the storage unit 120, the informationrelated to the exercise of the user 200 acquired by the exercise sensingunit 110 and the exercise instrument information recognition unit 160 inthis manner.

The above-described function of communicating with the exerciseinstrument or mechanism may be easily realized by adding only the sensorand the communication module to the exercise instrument or machineprovided in a health club or the like. The information acquired by thisfunction may be shared by the user 200 of the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 and the health club through wireless communication. Inthis case, the health club may easily manage the exercise information ofmembers by managing the system including the exercise instrument ormachine having a communication function and the exercise typerecognition apparatus 100 possessed by each of the members of the healthclub through a network.

More specifically, the information acquired by the exercise sensing unit110 and the exercise instrument information recognition unit 160 may beconverted into an integrated data as a daily/hourly exercise record ofthe user by the exercise type recognition apparatus 100. The integrateddata stored in the storage unit 120 of the exercise type recognitionapparatus 100 may be transmitted to a specific device (e.g., a server, acomputer, a smart phone, or the like) through various communicationmethods such as long term evolution (LTE), Wi-Fi and the like. Inaddition, the exercise type recognition apparatus 100 of the user mayreceive a data such as a next exercise plan or an exercise posture fromthe specific device.

Hereinafter, the embodiment introduced above with reference to FIGS. 7Ato 7C will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7A to 9.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are views for explaining showing the configuration of anexercise information management apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The exercise information management apparatus500 shown in FIG. 8A may comprise an information acquiring unit 510, aninformation storing unit 520 and an information processing unit 530.However, the exercise information management apparatus 500 shown in FIG.8A is nothing more than one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, the spirit of the present disclosure is not limited by theillustrating of FIG. 8A.

The information acquiring unit 510 may be mounted on an exerciseinstrument used for exercise performed by a user 200 and configured togenerate exercise instrument information including weight information ofa portion of the exercise instrument which moves by a force exerted bythe user 200. For example, it may be assumed that the exerciseinstrument is the weight training machine 300 illustrated in FIG. 7A,said portion can be the disks 310. In this assumption, if six disksamong the disks 310 by the exercise performed by the user 200, theweight of said portion will be 30 kg. However, if the user 200 stopsperforming the exercise such that none of the disks 310 moves, it may beconsidered that said portion does not exist anymore, and thus, theweight of said portion will be 0. The determination on whether theportion exists in the exercise instrument can be carried out by anacceleration sensor to be described later.

The information storing unit 520 may be store type information on a typeof the exercise instrument on which the information acquiring unit 510is mounted. The information storing unit 520 may be also mounted on theexercise instrument on which the information acquiring unit 510 ismounted. For example, if the information acquiring unit 510 is mountedon a barbell used for bench press, the information storing unit 520 canbe also mounted on said barbell with the information acquiring unit 510.In this case, the information storing unit 520 may be store typeinformation indicating that the type of the exercise instrument on whichthe information acquiring unit 510 is mounted is a barbell. Then, basedon the type information stored in the information storing unit 520, theinformation acquiring unit 510 can recognize that the informationacquiring unit 510 is currently mounted on a barbell. If the informationacquiring unit 510 and the information storing unit 520 have been movedfrom the barbell to a dumbbell which is a new exercise instrument, thetype information stored in the information storing unit 520 may bemodified so as to indicate the dumbbell instead of the barbell.

The information acquiring unit 510 may generate an exercise instrumentrecognition signal based on the type information and transmit theexercise instrument recognition signal to the information processingunit 530 to be described later. The information processing unit 530 mayrecognize, by receiving the exercise instrument recognition signal andextracting information included in the received signal, the type of theexercise instrument on which the information acquiring unit 510. In someembodiments, the information processing unit 530 may be, spatiallyseparated from the information acquiring unit 510 and informationstoring unit 520, located on a portable electronic device of the user200. For example, the information processing unit 530 may be implementedusing a microprocessor such as central processing unit (CPU) of theportable electronic device. In this case, the information acquiring unit510 may comprise a wireless communication module for transmitting theexercise instrument information or the exercise instrument recognitionsignal to the information processing unit 530.

The information processing unit 530, based on the exercise instrumentinformation, user exercise information including time-series informationregarding a use of the exercise instrument by the user. For example, theuser exercise information may include type information of the exerciseinstrument, the weight information corresponding to each type of theexercise instrument, and information on a time period or number of timesof the use of the exercise instrument by the user 200. Thus, from theuser exercise information, the user 200 can easily grasp his or herexercise history (for example, on Jan. 1, 2018, the user 200 performedexercise using a 50 kg barbell twenty times in a time period from 13:00to 13:02 and exercise using a 10 kg dumbbell thirty times in a timeperiod from 13:30 to 13:33).

In order to implementation of the aforementioned function, each of aplurality of exercise instruments used by a user 200 may have its owninformation acquiring unit 510 and information storing unit 520. Theinformation processing unit 530 may recognize, based on the weightinformation included in the exercise instrument information transmittedfrom the information acquiring unit 510 belonging to each of theexercise instruments, the type of the exercise instrument currently usedby the user 200. More specifically, based on the weight information, theinformation processing unit 530 can recognize a specific exerciseinstrument which generated the weight information indicating a weighthigher than 0 (in other words, an exercise instrument having the portionwhich moves by a force exerted by the user 200), thereby determiningthat the specific exercise instrument is currently used by the user 200for performing exercise. In some embodiments, the information processingunit 530 can recognize an exercise instrument which generated the weightinformation indicating a weight higher than predetermined value (forexample, 5 kg) so as to determine which exercise instrument is currentlyused by the user 200.

In some embodiments, the information processing unit 530 may recognizethe type of the exercise instrument used by user 200 based on a resultof a comparison of the exercise instrument information withpredetermined reference exercise instrument information. The referenceexercise instrument information may include a relationship between theweight information and the type of the exercise instrument. Theinformation processing unit 530 may determine, based on therelationship, that a 5 kg dumbbell is currently used by the user 200when the weight indicated by the weight information included in theexercise instrument information is 5 kg, or may determine that a 50 kgbarbell is currently used by the user 200 when the weight is 50 kg. Suchdetermination is based on a common knowledge that a barbell is generallyheavier than a dumbbell. The reference exercise instrument informationmay be freely revised by the user 200.

FIGS. 8B and 8C are views for describing an embodiment in which theexercise information management apparatus 500 illustrated in FIG. 8A isimplemented as a form of a fixing pin 600 for fixing the disks 310illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The fixing pin 600 illustrated in FIGS.8B and 8C may be substantially identical to the fixing pin 311 explainedreferring FIG. 7B.

As illustrated in FIG. 8B, the fixing pin 600 may include a main body610 which has a cylindrical shape and functions as a handle and asupporting bar 620 which is attached to and extends from the main body610. On the supporting bar 620, one or more press transfer units 621 maybe mounted. The press transfer units 621 may transfer the load of theportion of the exercise instrument which moves by a force exerted by theuser 200 (for example, the disks 310) to one or more pressure sensors661 to be described later.

As illustrated in FIG. 8C, the fixing pin 600 further includes a varietyof components disposed in the internal space formed by the main body 610and the supporting bar 620, As examples of the components, a mainboard630, a transmission port 640 and a battery 650 may be disposed in theinternal surface formed by the main body 610, and an internal bar 660and pressure sensors 661 may be disposed in the internal surface formedby the supporting bar 620. The mainboard 630 may include a processor631, a communication module 632, an acceleration sensor 633 and astorage device 634.

The pressure sensors 661 mounted on the internal bar 660 may measure apressure exerted thereon by said portion of the exercise instrument.Further, the acceleration sensor 633 may measure the acceleration of thefixing pin 600. Since the fixing pin 600 moves identically with saidportion of the exercise instrument such as disks 310, the accelerationmeasured by the acceleration sensor 633 can be considered as theacceleration of said portion.

The processor 631 may generate the weight information based on a valueof the pressure measured by the pressure sensors 661. However, asexplained above, the weight information generated only based on thepressure sensors 661 may be incorrect if said portion performs anaccelerated motion. Generally, an object whose weight is to be measuredshould be placed on a scale without movement in order to obtain acorrect weight value. In contrast, in embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the weight of the disks 310 may be measured even when thedisks 310 move. Accordingly, the processor 631 can compensate the valueof the pressure measured by the pressure sensors 661 using the value ofthe acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 633 so as togenerate the weight information. By such compensation process, theweight information can be more correctly acquired.

The main board 630 may receive electric power from the battery 650 orthe outside of the fixing pin 600 via the transmission port 640. Thestorage device 634 may store information required by the processor 631(for example, information on a type of the exercise instrument).Further, the exercise instrument information including the weightinformation, the exercise instrument recognition signal or the like canbe transmitted to the outside of the fixing pin 600 via thecommunication module 632 or the transmission port 640.

Among each component included in the fixing pin 600 as described withreference to FIGS. 8B and 8C, the storage device 634 can correspond tothe information storing unit 520 of the exercise information managementapparatus 500 illustrated in FIG. 8A, and components other than thestorage device 634 can correspond to the information acquiring unit 510of the exercise information management apparatus 500. The informationprocessing unit 530 may be implemented by the processor 631, or by anexternal device such as a portable electronic device of the user 200which is separated from the fixing pin 600 as explained above.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the flow of an exercise informationmanagement method carried out by the exercise information managementapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Therespective steps of the exercise information management method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below withreference to FIG. 9. The description of parts overlapping with those ofFIGS. 8A to 8C may be omitted. It should be noted that the followingsteps are not necessarily performed in order, and the order may bechanged as necessary.

First, the information acquiring unit 510 may be mounted on an exerciseinstrument used for exercise performed by the user 200 (S210). Inaddition, using the information acquiring unit 510, the exerciseinstrument information including the weight information of a portion ofthe exercise instrument which moves by a force exerted by the user 200may be generated (S220). Next, using the information processing unit530, the user exercise information including the time-series informationregarding a use of the exercise instrument by the user 200 may begenerated based on the exercise instrument information (S230).

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure explained withreference to FIGS. 8A to 9, it becomes possible to obtain various kindsof information on exercise which has been performed by the user 200.Therefore, the historical exercise information of the user 200 can beeffectively managed.

The combinations of respective sequences of a flow diagram attachedherein may be carried out by computer program instructions. Thus, anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium can store a programcausing a computer to perform the respective steps of a multi-stage menuselection method of the present disclosure. Since the computer programinstructions may be loaded in processors of a general purpose computer,a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processingapparatus, the instructions, carried out by the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create meansfor performing functions described in the respective sequences of thesequence diagram. Since the computer program instructions, in order toimplement functions in specific manner, may be stored in a memoryuseable or readable by a computer or a computer aiming for otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, the instruction stored in thememory useable or readable by a computer may produce manufacturing itemsincluding an instruction means for performing functions described in therespective sequences of the sequence diagram. Since the computer programinstructions may be loaded in a computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, instructions, a series of sequences of which isexecuted in a computer or other programmable data processing apparatusto create processes executed by a computer to operate a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, may provide operations forexecuting functions described in the respective sequences of the flowdiagram.

Moreover, the respective sequences may indicate some of modules,segments, or codes including at least one executable instruction forexecuting a specific logical function(s). In some alternativeembodiments, it is noted that the functions described in the sequencesmay run out of order. For example, two consecutive sequences may besubstantially executed simultaneously or often in reverse orderaccording to corresponding functions.

The explanation as set forth above is merely described a technical ideaof the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art to which this invention belongsthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the scope of the essential characteristics of the embodiments ofthe present invention. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments disclosedherein are not used to limit the technical idea of the presentinvention, but to explain the present invention, and the scope of thetechnical idea of the present invention is not limited to theseembodiments. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present inventionshould be construed as defined in the following claims and changes,modifications and equivalents that fall within the technical idea of thepresent invention are intended to be embraced by the scope of the claimsof the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An exercise type recognition method, comprising:a first step of acquiring wrist exercise information including at leastone of orientation information and motion information of a wrist of auser; a second step of acquiring upper body exercise informationincluding at least one of orientation information and motion informationof a torso of the user; a third step of calculating, using referencewrist exercise information and reference upper body exercise informationcorresponding to each of a plurality of exercise types, a firstsimilarity degree between the reference wrist exercise information andthe wrist exercise information and a second similarity degree betweenthe reference upper body exercise information and the upper bodyexercise information for each of the exercise types; and a fourth stepof determining an actual exercise type performed by the user, among theexercise types, based on the first similarity degree and the secondsimilarity degree.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference wristexercise information includes reference wrist orientation informationand reference wrist motion information, the reference upper bodyexercise information includes reference upper body orientationinformation and reference upper body motion information, and the thirdstep comprises a step of calculating, for each of the exercise types,the first similarity degree by respectively comparing the orientationinformation of the wrist and the motion information of the wrist withthe reference wrist orientation information and the reference wristmotion information, and the second similarity degree by respectivelycomparing the orientation information of the upper body and the motioninformation of the upper body with the reference upper body orientationinformation and the reference upper body motion information.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the third step comprises a step ofcalculating a general similarity degree for each of the exercise typesbased on the first similarity degree and the second similarity degree,and the fourth step comprises a step of providing the user with a resultof sorting the exercise types according to a magnitude of the generalsimilarity degree.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the fourth stepcomprises a step of outputting an exercise type having the generalsimilarity degree equal to or greater than a predetermined value amongthe exercise types to the user as an actual exercise type candidate, anddetermining the actual exercise type from the actual exercise typecandidate based on a selection of the user.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the first reference similarity degree is larger than the secondreference similarity degree, and the fourth step comprises a step ofproviding the actual exercise type to the user from a corresponding partof a manual that stores information on each of the exercise types,together with guidance on a method of correction of the actual exercisetype when the first similarity degree or the second similarity degreefor the actual exercise type is less than a predetermined firstreference similarity degree and equal to or greater than a predeterminedsecond reference similarity degree, and updating the actual exercisetype when the first similarity degree or the second similarity degreefor the actual exercise type is less than the second referencesimilarity degree.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the fourth stepcomprises a step of outputting a predetermined warning notification tothe user when the first similarity degree or the second similaritydegree for the actual exercise type is less than the first referencesimilarity degree.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the fourth stepcomprises a step of determining, for an exercise routine in which one ormore of the exercise types are combined in a predetermined order and fora predetermined number of repetitions, a previously performed part ofthe exercise routine based on a number of times the actual exercise typeis consecutively performed, and guiding a remaining part of the exerciseroutine, other than the previously performed part, to the user.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the exercise types, the reference wristexercise information and the reference upper body exercise informationcorresponding to each of the exercise types are updated based on aninput from the user.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the wristexercise information includes at least one of velocity and accelerationof the wrist, and the upper body exercise information includes at leastone of velocity information and acceleration of the upper body.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: a step of acquiring foot exerciseinformation including at least one of orientation information and motioninformation of a foot of the user, wherein the third step comprises astep of further calculating a third similarity degree between areference foot exercise information and the foot exercise informationfor each of the exercise types, and the fourth step comprises a step ofdetermining the actual exercise type based on the third similaritydegree.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: a step ofreceiving exercise instrument information on an exercise instrument,which is acquired by an exercise instrument information recognition unitinstalled on the exercise instrument used for an exercise performed bythe user, wherein the exercise instrument information includes at leastone of weight of the exercise instrument, velocity of the exerciseinstrument, acceleration of the exercise instrument and type of theexercise instrument.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the fourth stepcomprises a step of calculating an exercise repetition degree based on adegree at which at least one of the wrist exercise information and theupper body exercise information repeatedly appears within apredetermined range for a predetermined time, and calculating the firstsimilarity degree and the second similarity degree to determine theactual exercise type only when the exercise repetition degree is equalto or greater than a predetermined value.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the third step comprises a step of calibrating the referencewrist exercise information and the reference upper body exerciseinformation based on previously-stored user physique information of theuser, and a step of calculating the first similarity degree and thesecond similarity degree based on the calibrated reference wristexercise information and the calibrated reference upper body exerciseinformation.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording mediumstoring a program causing a computer to perform the respective steps ofthe method of claim
 1. 15. An exercise information management method,comprising: a first step of generating, using an information acquiringunit mounted on an exercise instrument used for exercise performed by auser, exercise instrument information including weight information of aportion of the exercise instrument which moves by a force exerted by theuser; and a second step of generating, based on the exercise instrumentinformation, user exercise information including time-series informationregarding a use of the exercise instrument by the user.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the second step is performed by a portableelectronic device of the user, and the information acquiring unitcomprises wireless communication module for transmitting the exerciseinstrument information to the portable electronic device.
 17. The methodof claim 16, wherein the first step comprises generating an exerciseinstrument recognition signal determined based on pre-stored typeinformation on a type of the exercise instrument on which theinformation acquiring unit is mounted, and the second step comprisesrecognizing, based on the exercise instrument recognition signal, thetype of the exercise instrument used by the user.
 18. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the first step comprises determining whether saidportion exists in the exercise instrument using an acceleration valuemeasured by an acceleration sensor.
 19. The method of claim 15, whereinthe second step comprises recognizing a type of the exercise instrumentbased on a result of a comparison of the exercise instrument informationwith predetermined reference exercise instrument information.
 20. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the user exercise information includes atleast one of type information of the exercise instrument, the weightinformation corresponding to each type of the exercise instrument, andinformation on a time period or number of times of the use of theexercise instrument by the user.
 21. The method of claim 15, wherein theinformation acquiring unit comprises a pressure sensor which measures apressure exerted thereon by said portion of the exercise instrument, andthe first step comprises generating the weight information based on avalue of the pressure.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein theinformation acquiring unit further comprises an acceleration sensorwhich measures an acceleration of said portion of the exerciseinstrument, and the first step comprises compensating the value of thepressure using a value of the acceleration so as to generate the weightinformation.
 23. A non-transitory computer-readable recording mediumstoring a program causing a computer to perform the respective steps ofthe method of claim 15.